Will
by dorkasaurus next
Summary: After some unfortunate events resulting in the death of his friends and a bad leg injury, Levi is sent away to recover.


This kind of situation wasn't new to him, but it was still uncomfortable. It had been a while since the Lance Corporal had to _rest _in an ally's home. Not just spend the night, but rest. Heal. He'd been ordered to stay with a volunteer family by his superiors. If it weren't for his damn leg, he would have been entirely against it, but nothing could be done. Levi wasn't going anywhere. He sat up in the strange bed, staring through the carefully crafted glass panes.

Nothing but a small walkway, more houses, an orange and pink sky with no sun in view... everything was close together in this city. The houses on this street were built on a hill, making this particular window seem very low to the ground. If he got too stir crazy, he could crawl out and roll down the hill like an idiot. It wouldn't do much good for his leg, however. Better not.

"Do you miss your friends?" A small voice asked, "It's okay! I gots us some wishes!"

Though distressed by the unintentionally painful question, Levi turned his head to find a young boy holding a fistful of white, fluffy dandelions. Some had already lost many of their seeds in transit, but the child didn't seem to mind. He'd seen plenty of playful cadets to know where this was going.

"Wishes? I don't think they'll come true if you try to make them inside." He cautioned.

"Hmmmm... Whaddo we do?" the boy hummed and walked around the room, an exaggerated miniature of his father. His host family was that of Geoff Ridder, an energetic member of the Survey Corps. From what he'd observed of the man, he wasn't a particularly strong or talented, but cared deeply for his comrades. It was hard for anyone to feel unappreciated whenever he was in the room. He had a habit of instigating a conversation just so he could listen. Levi wondered if this was Geoff's way of survival. If so, he hoped that he'd never make the mistake of asking Hanji about her research.

There was a tap on the window and little William Ridder waving on the other side. Looks like he'd grown impatient with the Corporal and found his own solution. Levi opened the window, hesitantly taking his half of the "wishes" and taking a deep breath.

"One... two... three! Blooow!" Will cheered, sending a small group of seeds flying through the air when he blew. He tried again a few more times before shaking the rest into the air. Levi had far less trouble and far less enthusiasm. He felt ridiculous, and Will's innocent view of how the world worked seemed almost tragic. As far as either of them knew, his father would be coming back.

_Maybe dandelions do grant wishes?_

Levi sighed. No. Why would he even think that?

"Hey, coopral?" The boy hadn't quite grasped the pronunciation of "corporal" just yet and refused to address Levi by any name he hadn't heard his father use for him.

"Hm?"

"Gramma says you're sad, but you don't cry. Are your tears sad, too?"

"Why the he-" Levi stopped himself. He had been warned about his language.

"I don't like to come out when I'm sad. I think your tears are sad." Will explained, breaking up the dandelion stems, letting them fall to the paved road. Levi sighed again, shaking his head.

"Am I wrong?"

"No." Levi answered, "You... might be right." In a way, his tears _were _pouting. They'd rather not be seen by anyone, but when it was late and he was sure he was alone...

He couldn't believe he was taking this kid seriously. He didn't have too much experience with anyone under ten, yet here he was. Discussing his emotional state with a six year old. The "coopral" lied down then, closing his eyes and hoping for a change in subject.

"That's a lot of sad!" William gasped, running away from the window. Seconds later, he could hear his little feet stomping around the house here and there, then growing louder as they approached the bedroom. Something light landed on his chest. He opened his eyes to find a stuffed bear looking back at him.

"Tom likes you! He says you should smile!"

Tom wasn't going to get a smile from him, but he did try to frown a little less. Will grabbed the bear, making it dance around on his chest.

"That's okay!" Will said in a slightly deeper voice, speaking for the bear and yawning mid-sentence, "Try again after you sleep!"

The bear was squished against his cheek and Will said a cheerful "night-night!" before dashing out of the room.

Levi lied there quietly before shutting the window and closing the curtain and, wincing slightly from his leg injury, tried to get comfortable enough to sleep. When the Sandman finally came to bless him, Tom the bear was in his hands.

If the Grandma Ridder had the means to capture the image for generations to see the following morning...


End file.
